The good folks over at Search Engine Genie published a top 10 list of the most influential people in the SEO industry. What I noticed, as did several other folks, there were no women on that list. That’s a shame because there are several women that I follow and consider very influential in their own right. So I decided to create a list of my own.
I know that some people will roll their eyes and say “why is she on the list” or some such. The list is completely subjective based on my experiences with these people either directly or indirectly, listening to them or reading what they’ve written. I think they’ve all contributed to the industry in ways that matter. I’ve learned from them and hope that if you read their work, listen to them speak or hire them, you benefit too.
Alex Bennert
In-house SEO, Wall Street Journal
Allison Fabella
SEO Manager, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amanda Watlington
Ph.D., Searching for Profit
Anne Kennedy
Managing Partner, Beyond Ink
Christine Churchill
President, KeyRelevance
Dana Todd
Founding Partner, SiteLab International, Inc.
Elisabeth Osmeloski
Managing Editor, Search Engine Land
Gillian Muessig
President, SEOmoz, Inc.
Heather Lloyd-Martin
President and CEO, SuccessWorks
Janet Driscoll Miller
President & CEO, Search Mojo
Jennifer Laycock
Director of Social Media/Editor, SiteLogic/Search Engine Guide
Jessica L Bowman
Founder & President, SEOinhouse.com
Jessie Stricchiola
Founder & CEO, Alchemist Media, Inc.
Jill Whalen
CEO, High Rankings
Kim Krause Berg
Web Site Usability and SEO Consultant, Cre8pc
Rae Hoffman
Chief Executive Officer, Outspoken Media
Rebecca Kelly
Director of Social Media, 10e20
Rhea Drysdale
Co-founder and COO, Outspoken Media
Shari Thurow
SEO Director, Omni Marketing Interactive
Tamar Weinberg
Techipedia.com
Vanessa Fox
Founder, Nine By Blue
{ 3 comments }
I’ve heard of almost every one of the people on this list. I’ve had the good fortune of meeting a handful of them in person, too. I would never question why any of the ones I know of are on this list – and I would be bold enough to suggest that at least 1 and probably 2 or 3 of these people should be on the top 10 all-around list.
:-) Thanks for the link. Tomorrow we are having a small cartoon picture for all the big guys listed check back and you will be happier. I never had any intention to ignore women. Almost all of them you listed here are very useful for SEO and search engine industry but i feel they cannot compete with the Big guys like Matt Cutts, Danny. Its not just these guys, their websites too are important for Search Engine industry.
Thanks for the comment Vijay. I suspected SEG didn’t intend to ignore the women. There are many more that neither of us mention. I think it’s important to bare in mind – and the reason I wanted to write the post – the industry is maturing and bragging rights, magic recipes, and the like, are all changing quickly. I’d hazard a guess- without a scientific study in hand – that the search industry is one of the few areas where the number of women actively participating is well above national averages and growing quickly.